>> russia condemns an israeli air strike in syria. what started it. captioned by the national captioning institute --www.ncicap.org-- >> you are watching al jazeera live from doha. china takes extreme measures to tackle its pollution problem. and we visit the bright lights of macau where investors are raking it in.

russia is condemning an israeli air strike on syrian territory calls link -- calling it a brazen attack on international law. what is unclear is what israel was targeting. israeli warplanes attacked a convoy of trucks traveling across the border of lebanon. nicole johnson is live in jerusalem. the reaction is coming in from this incident. >> that is right. we have had a response from hezbollah. it has condemned the attack inside syria, saying it is a dangerous act. we also heard from russia, which said it will be taking urgent action to clarify what has happened. there is still a great deal of uncertainty.

the u.s. navy is reports in israeli officials spoke to u.s. a administration officials and informs them they are planning and carrying out an attack on an arms shipments said to be carrying russian missiles destined for hezbollah. if those missiles were surface- to-air missiles, that would be a game changer. it would make it difficult to carry out air operations in northern israel as well as southern lebanon. the israelis are concerned about this. they are concerned about the transfer of chemical weapons from syria to hezbollah and to other groups inside syria and lebanon. they have been making statements about that in the last couple of weeks, saying if the transfer occurs, it could be a line for them. >> israeli officials have been tight-lipped about this

incident. they have been speaking about their concerns over syria's dangerous weapons. >> that is right. on sunday, the israeli prime minister, benjamin netanyahu, expressed his concerns. we also had the israeli air force chief talking about the efforts they are making in the north of the country to try to prevent any kind of war or increased tension along the northern border with lebanon. there are a lot of statements coming out of israel expressing their concern. also, they sent one of their missile defense systems to a northern city. there has been an increase in the rhetoric from the israeli side in terms of the conflict in syria and concerns about how it could spill over into the border of israel. >> thanks to nicole johnson from

jerusalem. elsewhere in syria, there has been renewed violence in several areas. an area has been shelled. this video appears to show an air strike. the u.n. says donors have helped them raise more than $1.5 million for refugees. 100,000 people have already fled the violence in syria. the number could reach more than 1 million by june. there is also concerned about 2 million syrians who have been internally displaced by the conflict. i moon called the situation in syria a catastrophe that is growing by the day.

a figure stands at 700,000. an ambitious target of $1.50 billion, a figure that is a surprise to some u.s. officials that it was met. >> to be able to provide to syrian refugees better protection, that your assistance in relation to shelter, food, health. >> the $1.50 billion the u.n. and ask for is just for the next six months. that is the largest amount they have ever need in u.s. history. there is no end in sight for the problems in syria. they may have to have another conference like this in a matter of months. the progress raised for raising humanitarian funds is a conflict or the humanitarian

community to stop the killing. should those countries sitting on the security council be ashamed of the deadlock while so many people are dying every day? >> this is an important question. at the same time, a critical question. more than 60,000 people have been killed during the last 22 months. personally, i am pained to sink how many more people may have to be -- to think how many more people have to be killed if we do not bring this situation to end end urgently. >> the opulent setting of this meeting seems a world away from the deaf and hard chip inside syria. the new money will bring much- needed surprised and support,

but no end to the constant but said. >> the u.n. has called on israel to stop building new settlements on occupied palestinian lands. jewish settlements in the west bank are in violation of international law. the settlement are displacing thousands of palestinians and destroying their crops and homes. a roadside bomb in afghanistan has killed at least one police officer. 8 others were wounded. after a three week offensive, french and malian forces have taken a major town. people say french troops met no resistance. the interim president has ruled out negotiations with any of the rebel groups. he is considering talking to ethnic members about territorial

claims. we have very poor from one of the refugee camps. >> an official of the arab movement. the border is full of people like him. fighters from some of the armed groups in northern mali. it is an era -- an unjust war in this country. >> these people have been marginalized since independence and france bears and historical responsibility. we encouraged them not to leave the issue in the hands of african countries because they cannot differentiate between terrorists and ordinary people. >> it is loosely allied to the

secular movement and want the people of northern mali to have the right of self-determination. >> we are not insisting on one solution. what is important that it be a just and final solution. every five or 10 years, there is a rebellion in the north because mali is a failed state. >> particularly among tourism among arabs, who feel aggrieved for their country. >> we want separation from mali and nothing else. we want nothing short of total independence. >> coming to some sort of agreement with the authorities will take time. they are preparing themselves for a long period been in exile. >> muhammed, it has been

interesting listening to the malian president. he made clear he would not talk to any groups linked to al qaeda. how does that work out on the grounds? -- ground? >> it looks as if be called by the interim president -- call by the interim president means he will only talk to those who relinquished their territorial claims in the northern parts of the country. the arab group says they are not going for anything short of independence of the north of mali from the rest of the country. they have a long time of march annihilation -- of marginalize

haitian. the only way to deal with the issue is to -- marginalization. we know that the international community understands that the military successes so far achieved by the malian forces cannot be sustained and cannot continue as long as they need support from the local population, particularly when groups like al qaeda are here. they will put a lot of pressure to bear and they will come to an understanding. the arab leadership is saying nothing short of liberation or autonomy. >> thank you.

the chinese military is conducting able drills in southern china. it is close to the disputed territory claimed by china and japan. chinese officials said the exercises are in line with international law. authorities in beijing have temporarily shut down more than 100 factories trying to cut down on extreme air pollution. residents in the chinese capital have been breathing high levels of smog for two weeks now. >> pollution has been so bad, visibility was reduced to 200 meters. there have been only five relatively clear days since the beginning of the year. >> it might have an effect on the amount of time spent outdoors. i was outside for about one hour and felt very uncomfortable.

>> beijing is surrounded by coal burning factories. hi polluting vehicles are being taken off the streets and trees are being -- high polluting vehicles are being taken off of the streets and trees are being planted. >> we have small children at home and they get sick quite often. >> this pile up was blamed on poor visibility. while not as bad as mainland cities, hong kong is looking to reduce harmful emissions by moving factories away from city centers and using more clean energy. the mainland government is looking to that similar long- term measures. it has a identified 90 he cites as smart cities, environmentally

friendly zones created using the latest technology. that is expected to take another 3-5 years. one businessman took to the streets giving out cans of fresh air that was collected in less polluted parts of the country. >> still to come, sudan's sporting passion. tough economic times do not stop people from getting to the horse races. >> find out how the subway system in moscow is being expanded. >> we have lots of unsettled weather with us across the middle east. on the satellite picture, we see

a cloud of cold air. we have a huge blanket of cold air going into iran. even toward the west, it is on subtle. in the next couple of days, these systems will run their way east. the heavier downpours will be pushing away toward the east. they are making their way into parts of afghanistan. the wet weather will stretch through parts of iran. some of the downpours are likely to be heavy. just the tail end of the system affecting us further south. a huge blanket of clouds. it is not giving a lot of what weather in the south. those are moving away as we head toward friday over toward iran. there will be a trailing leg of clouds. over the uae on friday and into

saturday as well. it can give us one or two showers here in doha. by>> welcome back.

let's recap the headlines. russia is condemning an air strike on syrian soil. it was called a violation of airspace. mali's interim president has ruled out talking to al qaeda- link to rebels. he is considering talking to fighters with the mnla if they relinquish territorial claims. beijing is dealing with its worst smog in years.

visibility is down to 200 meters. the u.s. economy has gone into reverse, shrinking 1%. it is the first contraction since the financial crisis started. >> congress was sworn to come to a deal. the row over the fiscal cliff hit business confidence. analysts on wall street were expecting growth of 1%. the symbolism is huge. >> when people see a negative number, you worry if the economy is going into recession. when people look at the details, they see that under the surface, this was not such a bad report. >> there was a cut in government

spending, particularly in the sense. consumer, and hence -- there was a cut in government spending, particularly in defense. the fiscal cliff has not been sorted, only put off for a few weeks. there is no sign of a deal between republicans and democrats. >> we need to look seriously at what is done with the government directly and indirectly. we will see some real budget reform take place. we might have a better economy in the future. >> the u.s. has lost its triple aaa credit rating. spending cuts and tax rises in the coming weeks. analysts have said these discussions would have little

impact on the economy. they were wrong. the pressure is on politicians to do a deal quickly. >> the granting of a boeing 787 in japan has cost it $1 billion. -- grounding of a boeing 787 has cost it $1 billion. doctors and ambulance staff say cutbacks have left to the health system missing supplies. protests have increased in recent weeks as an grows over the government's austerity plan. it is difficult to navigate and more daunting if you do not speak russian. we are talking about the moscow metro. there are up to 9 million passengers during peak hours.

a major redesign aims to ease the crush. >> you could be forgiven for thinking parts of the moscow metro looks more like an art gallery that a busy underground rail network. it reflects the city's soviets passed and culture. tens of thousands of people work to bring the subway system to live. much of the labor is done in tough conditions by hand. the metro opened in 1935, 70 years after the london underground started operating in more than 30 years after the new york subway began running. when >> the first idea appeared -- >> when the first idea appeared, moscow residents wonder why we needed it. now they are proud. >> 7 million people use the

metro every day. that number can reach 9 million at peak times. it is one of the busiest of the world. old habits like touching this statue for luck still go on. the subway was introduced because of the expansion of the city in the 1920's and early 1930's. it is still one of the fastest- growing cities in the world. the system is struggling to cope. the metro has been evolve and and there are big plans to expand it. by 2020, it will increase in size by half. there are attempts to make it easier to navigate around with a new math being designed. this is one of several schemes being put to a vote.

>> people by a new york apartment by knowing where the new station will be. -- a new apartment by knowing where the new station will be. >> a lot is riding on these redevelopment plans as many head to the city to work and live. the need to go underground in moscow will get even greater. >> an unmanned rocket has blasted off from the u.s. taking a new number of communications satellites into orbit. it is expected to reach orbit in 10 days. china has denied accusations it hacked into the new york times' servers. claims have been that the

chinese hackers have been attacking these computer since they ran a story about wen jiabao. a former portuguese policy of -- colony of macao is expected to be the world's fastest growing economy this year. it is because of its rapidly growing gaming industry. >> it has been called the las vegas of the east. there are comparisons. equal doses of glitz and glamour. most of nevada's major players have staked their fortunes here. rightly so. in just a decade, macao eclipsed the world as the place for gaming.

not to be outdone, and hong kong billionaire is expanding his casino resort. with the gaming revenues on the island and expected to double by 2015, he has big plans. >> we will have 10 million square feet of space is. we should be one of the top casino resorts in the world. >> 0.3 billion sanders is credited for being macao financial fortune. junket operators use slick advertisers lure high rollers to vip rooms. there are tiny state officials who use macau to launder millions in illicit earnings.

it is something operators do not like talking about. >> it is hard for me to say if there are such people. i do not know. most people are above board and follow the law. >> casino executives admit a crackdown. enforcement is attracting -- attracting more of the country's middle class. they have been experimenting with a greater variety of attractions. casino resorts have tried to expand beyond gaming by offering gondola rides. still , people come for one thing. -- still, people come for one thing only. they believe the chinese customer will seek out mccaul for what else it can offer. the-macau -- macau for what it

can offer. >> does not make it the wrong business model. >> more gaming seems to be the draw. there may be no rush to gamble on anything else. >> flood waters are receding in mozambique's. 150,000 people were forced from their homes -- flood waters are receding in mozambique'. many areas are still under water. at least 38 people died in the floods. the australian prime minister visited the ravaged queensland town. flood waters caused extensive damage. damage.